Cowboys center Travis Frederick is ready to expand his tool chest with the arrival of Joe Philbin

Dallas’ new O-line coach has had several talks with Frederick, creating a working relationship.

Dallas Cowboys center Travis Frederick (#72) talks to reporters after a team meeting at The Star on Dec. 30, 2019 in Frisco. The Cowboys season ended after failing to make it to playoffs. (Juan Figueroa/ The Dallas Morning News)(Juan Figueroa / Staff photographer)

That’s how the center views the arrival of Joe Philbin to coach the Cowboys offensive line.

“I’m excited because whenever you get a new coach coming in, they have new tools to teach you,” Frederick said during a promotional appearance for Sleep Number. “When you’re trying to get a project done at home and you only have a limited set of tools, you might be able to get it done but it might not be the perfect tool for the job.

“You might be using pliers on a nut instead of the ratchet. There might be a more efficient way to be doing it or a better way to be doing it, but you’ve just been doing it a different way before, so the more tools that you have, the easier it is to grab the one you’re looking for.”

This Tool Time analogy didn’t work when Paul Alexander took over the group in 2018 before being fired midway through the season. But it makes sense as long as Philbin doesn’t stray too far from what the Cowboys’ line does best the way Alexander did.

“I think you can look back to the past for some of these guys in the way that coach Philbin has taught protection,” Frederick said. “I think there has been a little bit more slide into what he’s done than what we’ve previously done, but that doesn’t mean that’s what we’re going to do.

“Coaches often mutate into what they have as players as well.”

Frederick has had several talks with Philbin. The two happen to work out at the same time, early in the morning, at The Star.

“You can tell he’s a guy who is really focused on football,” Frederick said. “He’s one of those guys who is continually trying to get better at his craft on top of helping us get better at our craft.

“Any time I see him, you can tell he’s thinking. He’ll come up and ask me why we did something or how we did something previously.

“I think he really is aiming to understand what we were doing and how we were doing it so he can better translate when he starts coaching what we’re going to be doing in the future.”